IMSA: RSR Second At Road America

Following the RSR’s maiden win at Lime Rock in round seven, round eight of the IMSA SportsCar Championship took place at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The No912 911 RSR initially managed to advance from fourth to third place with Gianmaria Bruni at the wheel, closely followed by Patrick Pilet in the No911 car.

The duo held those positions until the first round of pit stops, and the race stayed largely static until around one hour from the checkered flag. Laurens Vanthoor took the lead in the No912 car after a short pit stop, but immediately following a safety car phase he ran wide and let the Ford of Hand and Müller past. Vanthoor tried everything to reclaim the lead but there was nothing he could do. In the sister car Dirk Werner got mixed up in an accident with a Corvette at the restart, he ended up in the gravel trap, classified in P8 come the final flag. Having been a mere six-tenths of a second off claiming victory, it was another disappointing result for Porsche’s GT team in 2017.

Laurens Vanthoor commented after the race: “What a rollercoaster race. We came into the pits earlier than scheduled prior to a caution phase, because we suspected we had a tyre problem, and that cost us the lead. We definitely had some luck on our side because there was nothing wrong with the tyres. After the restart, I wanted to overtake a slower GTD vehicle but he blocked me and that led to a mistake. It’s annoying to lose the lead and possibly even victory because of this, but such things happen. Nevertheless, finishing second on this tricky circuit is a good result.”

Dirk Werner said: “In the closing phase of the race we still had every chance open to us. After the final round of pit stops I was running in fifth and I wanted to overtake the Corvette in front of me after the safety car phase. But, while braking, he pulled to the left in the last moment and forced me into the gravel trap. He was given a penalty, but that didn’t do us any good. I’m pleased for our team colleagues in the #912 car and I hope that we can make more out of our good possibilities in Virginia.”

Round nine of the IMSA series will be contested at the Virginia International Raceway in Virginia.